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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm just under halfway through and unsure whether I will persevere to the end.
There are elements in this book that I like: the resurrected brother is a VERY interesting character, though we don't get enough of him--he appears dramatically and is awesome, but then basically gets left outside the door (literally) for the majority of the story (so far). The unkillable monster-beasts are also cool, but are only half-explained and, despite their supposed danger to the world, seem to not be taken very seriously by the powers that be--seriously?! You have only two remaining bone witches who can put these things down and when you get a rare new apprentice you WASTE PRECIOUS TIME first using her as a scullery maid for months and then putting her through freaking dance, music, and flower-arrangement classes?! Priorities, people! Life-or-death first, social niceties later! This choice might have worked if the asha had been set up from the start as performers who happen to do some magic on the side, but no: they had been set up as kickass magic-users first, to the extent that the protagonist (who fangirlishly read about them growing up) didn't even know they were 90% performance artist. HOW?
Being close to the middle of the book as I am, the story seems to have stagnated in the everyday mundane this-is-a-stupid-way-of-apprenticing with not enough (or any) justification for that choice. I'm also having trouble accepting the frivolous, geisha-esque world of the asha, which doesn't at all match with the feel I'd previously been getting of them as kickass figures who happen to be pretty (as opposed to pretty starlets who happen to occasionally kick ass, maybe, we've only seen one instance of it). It feels like the author kept too much real-world geisha structure without making enough creative changes to adapt the concept to the fantasy plot.
Lesser complaints: 1) the protagonist's name, Tea. If you don't mean for it to be pronounced like the beverage, there really should be an accent over one of the vowels to indicate that. Now I don't know how I'm supposed to read it, which is especially frustrating to someone who has always had trouble getting people to pronounce her own name correctly. [update: the intended pronounciation is only specified around page 300, by which point I'd been doing it wrong for almost 2/3 of the book, leaving me horribly disoriented when finally corrected] 2) the format of alternating chapters set in the present (future?) and past felt clunky and uncomfortable. Closer to the middle it gets better and more interesting, but for a good chunk of the first third it just grated on the ear. The first chapter (set in the future or present, however you want to look at it) did not appeal to me at all, seeming too burdened with info I had no context for yet and therefore was uncomfortably aware that I was missing, but when in the next chapter Tea started narrating for herself, I was immediately sucked in. Until the stagnant part started, anyway. I've seen the alternating timeline thing done successfully, but this author needs to perfect it a bit.
Updates to come as I push on with the reading.
Update: NO, NO, NO. This is not one book with tantalizing hints of things to come, this is two books mashed together with important in-between parts missing. Crucial plot details FINALLY started getting explained around page 300--it shouldn't take 300 PAGES for me to hear a significant part of the creation-story that should be cultural background noise throughout. And the ending was a mix of cliffhanger and spoiler--you can't spring that on us completely out of the blue; if that was going to happen, you should have told the story chronologically so we could see this extreme interpersonal change start to happen, not in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards and then skipping this giant chunk of time full of crucial events and then BOOM, the equivalent of putting 'Luke, I am your father' in the movie trailer of the first original Star Wars movie.
Final verdict: some very cool story elements and interesting characters are burdened by and drowned in a giant chunk of stagnation in the middle; the plot is made to feel awkward and unnecessarily confusing by not explaining crucial background information until the final third of the book; and though the action picked up in that last bit, the very ending was an infuriating spoiler (I am severely disappointed at being robbed of the surprise of seeing this thing develop naturally). Not motivated to continue with the second book, which is a shame, because if this had been handled differently, I know I could have enjoyed this story.
There are elements in this book that I like: the resurrected brother is a VERY interesting character, though we don't get enough of him--he appears dramatically and is awesome, but then basically gets left outside the door (literally) for the majority of the story (so far). The unkillable monster-beasts are also cool, but are only half-explained and, despite their supposed danger to the world, seem to not be taken very seriously by the powers that be--seriously?! You have only two remaining bone witches who can put these things down and when you get a rare new apprentice you WASTE PRECIOUS TIME first using her as a scullery maid for months and then putting her through freaking dance, music, and flower-arrangement classes?! Priorities, people! Life-or-death first, social niceties later! This choice might have worked if the asha had been set up from the start as performers who happen to do some magic on the side, but no: they had been set up as kickass magic-users first, to the extent that the protagonist (who fangirlishly read about them growing up) didn't even know they were 90% performance artist. HOW?
Being close to the middle of the book as I am, the story seems to have stagnated in the everyday mundane this-is-a-stupid-way-of-apprenticing with not enough (or any) justification for that choice. I'm also having trouble accepting the frivolous, geisha-esque world of the asha, which doesn't at all match with the feel I'd previously been getting of them as kickass figures who happen to be pretty (as opposed to pretty starlets who happen to occasionally kick ass, maybe, we've only seen one instance of it). It feels like the author kept too much real-world geisha structure without making enough creative changes to adapt the concept to the fantasy plot.
Lesser complaints: 1) the protagonist's name, Tea. If you don't mean for it to be pronounced like the beverage, there really should be an accent over one of the vowels to indicate that. Now I don't know how I'm supposed to read it, which is especially frustrating to someone who has always had trouble getting people to pronounce her own name correctly. [update: the intended pronounciation is only specified around page 300, by which point I'd been doing it wrong for almost 2/3 of the book, leaving me horribly disoriented when finally corrected] 2) the format of alternating chapters set in the present (future?) and past felt clunky and uncomfortable. Closer to the middle it gets better and more interesting, but for a good chunk of the first third it just grated on the ear. The first chapter (set in the future or present, however you want to look at it) did not appeal to me at all, seeming too burdened with info I had no context for yet and therefore was uncomfortably aware that I was missing, but when in the next chapter Tea started narrating for herself, I was immediately sucked in. Until the stagnant part started, anyway. I've seen the alternating timeline thing done successfully, but this author needs to perfect it a bit.
Updates to come as I push on with the reading.
Update: NO, NO, NO. This is not one book with tantalizing hints of things to come, this is two books mashed together with important in-between parts missing. Crucial plot details FINALLY started getting explained around page 300--it shouldn't take 300 PAGES for me to hear a significant part of the creation-story that should be cultural background noise throughout. And the ending was a mix of cliffhanger and spoiler--you can't spring that on us completely out of the blue; if that was going to happen, you should have told the story chronologically so we could see this extreme interpersonal change start to happen, not in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards and then skipping this giant chunk of time full of crucial events and then BOOM, the equivalent of putting 'Luke, I am your father' in the movie trailer of the first original Star Wars movie.
Final verdict: some very cool story elements and interesting characters are burdened by and drowned in a giant chunk of stagnation in the middle; the plot is made to feel awkward and unnecessarily confusing by not explaining crucial background information until the final third of the book; and though the action picked up in that last bit, the very ending was an infuriating spoiler (I am severely disappointed at being robbed of the surprise of seeing this thing develop naturally). Not motivated to continue with the second book, which is a shame, because if this had been handled differently, I know I could have enjoyed this story.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love reading books where it's so unlike anything I've ever read, because having read a lot some stories and plot points are overused. But this was so unique and well written. It was slow at times but definitely worth it to finish.
This book is a recounting. Tea's telling her story to the bard after it already happened. I was instantly on guard. And then her retelling started by explaining her sister's occupations, the mundanities of their day to day life, and the reason why their mother chose each of their names... That's enough for me! I'll be sticking this book on my DNF shelf. It's just not my cup of....Tea.
DNF Audible edition
Could NOT get into the storyline AT. ALL. The narrators were very lackluster as well. Unfortunate.
Could NOT get into the storyline AT. ALL. The narrators were very lackluster as well. Unfortunate.
"You can be the most powerful witch in the land, but you will always have a weakness, and that will always make you believe you have no power when someone exploits it. There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws."
I loved the world building and the magic system and watching Tea grow and learn what it means to be a bone witch. I'm excited to continue the series and see where things go from here!
I loved the world building and the magic system and watching Tea grow and learn what it means to be a bone witch. I'm excited to continue the series and see where things go from here!
Interesting book. The author created a very unique world with her words. Rich in detail and descriptions of said world may have been the downfall, though. It was just so boring. I had a lot of trouble getting through it.
I was able to read this ebook through Net Galley!
I was able to read this ebook through Net Galley!
This book started slow for me. I had a hard time getting to know who Tea but there was still enough there to keep me curious.
I loved the two stories that were happening, as I learned more in the main story about various items such as what keeps an asha strong I'd begin to connect the dots with the second story understanding the meals or the hua.
By the end of the book I was fully immersed in the story! Tea has grown up in many ways through the book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Can't believe we have to wait until 2018!
I loved the two stories that were happening, as I learned more in the main story about various items such as what keeps an asha strong I'd begin to connect the dots with the second story understanding the meals or the hua.
By the end of the book I was fully immersed in the story! Tea has grown up in many ways through the book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Can't believe we have to wait until 2018!